BY: Richard Quiñones (Journeymen Boxing) Anatoliy Alkhzaov withheld a late rally from Dennis McGill to advance to the 152lb novice finals of the 2015 New Jersey Golden Gloves tournament Friday at Paramus, New Jersey. Alkhzaov will now face hard-hitting Jaime Dejesus, who scored another vicious knockout in the semis against Dayton Harris.

Alkhzaov (Bergen PAL) displayed a crisp jab early on using his southpaw stance which seemed to confuse McGill in the opening round. He was able to touch him up midway through the round and also scored with some body shots.

In round two, the taller McGill tried to establish his reach with his jab, but Alkhzaov was game and courageous enough to get inside and score stealing the round late.

The third and final round was somewhat quiet, as McGill realized he was down on the scorecards he decided to pick up the pace midway through. However, Alkhzaov was able to keep his distance and fought a smart final round to win a close contest.

JMB scored it 29-28 in favor of Alkhzaov, who saw some openings early on in the bout.

“I saw some opening, when he would throw that wild right hand, I was able to get my punches off, and score,” said Alkhzaov.

Alkhzaov knows he will need to stay away from that dangerous right by Dejesus and has a week to make some adjustments.